10 things you didn't know about Ashley Christensen

If you've eaten at one of her restaurants, you know how great the food is -- but Christensen sat down with us at Poole's this week to talk about the stuff we didn't know, like her go-to ingredients, her secret talent and how she fell in love with being in the kitchen.

"It's something really great for spiking up something that needs a little more pop. There's also always Duke's mayonnaise in there, which I think you can turn into a lot of different things."

"I think it's okay to feel strongly opposed to something, but if we can't figure out what brings joy to us by being positive, I think that's a real shortcoming."

"I think those things individually have their own value but the combination when chicken is giving a little fat to the pan becomes something unique."

"I grew up around food and got to witness my parents cooking all the time. When they were out, I would always find myself in the kitchen deciding what I could cook. My dad was a truck driver and went to New Orleans often, and he came home from one route with beignet mix -- and I got in deep trouble for deep frying in the kitchen as an eight-year-old. The box was so intriguing. I remember that was one of the first things that sent me down the cooking rabbit hole."

"I find that we as cooks have a lot in common with musicians in the things that we appreciate. I like the way that music and cooking share a space."

"The last concert I saw was The Avett Brothers. I was in Los Angeles for a wedding."

"I guess I'd have to go with something simple with a tomato sandwich, or maybe a really beautiful fresh arugula salad dressed in nothing but olive oil and lemon juice."

"I juggle a lot. Sometimes fruit."